INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

But you don't have to wait for a reason to celebrate. Today's recipe
is the perfect ending to a rich, complex dinner. Once assembled, this
tart requires just a minute under the broiler and then an hour to  set,
so it's very simple to prepare. Try it for dessert tonight and  your
friends, family, and guests will be impressed with your French  pastry
skills.  If you prefer to use your own puff pastry recipe instead of a
prepared  pastry dough, just follow the instructions given below in The
Kitchen  Staff Tips.  Pre-heat oven to 400-F degrees and assemble your
mise-en-place, now.  (Mise-en-place defined: French cooking method
whereby you arrange each  ingredient in the prepared portions and
sequence you'll require when  preparing your recipe.)  On a lightly
floured surface, roll out the pastry dough to about an  1/8-inch-thick
circle that's about 12 inches across. Transfer the  pastry to a 9-inch
tart pan, preferably with a removable bottom.  Gently fit the pastry
into the pan and trim off any excess. Prick the  bottom of the pastry
all over with a fork. Line the pasty with  aluminum foil and weight it
with dried beans or rice, to keep the  pastry from puffing up unevenly
during baking. Bake for 15 minutes  and remove from the oven when
lightly browned. Remove the foil and  weights and cool on a wire rack.
Pre-heat the broiler.  In the top pan of a double-boiler, mix the lemon
juice, eggs, egg  yolks, and sugar over simmering water in the bottom
of a  double-boiler pan. Beat the mixture for 8 to 10 minutes with a
hand-held electric mixer or whisk. Make sure the mixture is very  thick
and the batter clings to the utensil.  Remove from the heat and whisk
in the butter pieces a little at a  time. Pour the custard into the
puff pastry shell.  Place the lemon tart under the broiler for 60
seconds, or until the  top is just glazed. Let it sit at room
temperature for about an hour,  or until the lemon filling is cooled
and set.  Slice to serve. Refrigerate any remaining tart to store, but
serve at  room temperature. Kitchen Staff Tips: To prepare a
from-scratch puff  pastry, chill 1 cup of butter or margarine. Reserve
at least 2  tablespoons. Work the remaining chilled butter with the
back of a  wooden spoon on a sheet of waxed paper that is twice the
size of an  9-inch by 12-inch sheet. Make sure to work on one side of
the wax  paper, then fold the other side on top of the butter, leaving
room  for the butter to spread as you roll it out to an even 8-inch by
6-inch square. Chill the butter in the refrigerator for at least 1
hour, or place it in the freezer for 20 minutes.  Cut the reserved 2
tablespoons butter into 1 3/4 cups sifted  all-purpose flour until the
mixture resembles a coarse meal.  Gradually add 1/2 cup ice water. A
fork works great for blending the  dough. Cover, and let rest for 10
minutes, then roll the dough on a  lightly floured surface into a
15-inch by 9-inch rectangle. Peel off  one side of the wax paper from
the chilled butter and place on one  side of the dough, then fold the
dough over the top of the butter and  seal the edges. Wrap the butter
and dough in wax paper and chill for  at least an hour in the
refrigerator.  Unwrap the dough and place it on a lightly floured
surface. Roll it  out to a 15-inch by 9-inch rectangle. Make sure you
roll out from the  center to keep the batter and dough layers
equalized. Brush off any  excess flour, then fold the dough in thirds,
turn the dough, and fold  in thirds again. Press the edges to seal.
Wrap and chill the dough  for at least an hour or freeze the dough at
this time.  To prepare your pastry, simply roll out the chilled or
thawed dough  to the size required for baking. You now have 7 layers of
butter and  dough to form a puff pastry while baking.  Posted to
dailyrecipe@recipe-a-day.com by Recipe-a-Day
<recipe-a-day@bignetwork.com> on Oct 7, 1998, converted by MM_Buster
v2.0l.

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: 817
Calories From Fat: 476
Total Fat: 53.6g
Cholesterol: 421.1mg
Sodium: 182.9mg
Potassium: 128.3mg
Carbohydrates: 74.5g
Fiber: <1g
Sugar: 50.9g
Protein: 11.6g